International sanctions
On 10 April 2006, following the 2006 presidential election in Belarus, the Chairwoman of the CEC, Lidia Yermoshina, was placed on a list of over 40 members of the Belarusian government banned from entering the European Union and the United States for allegedly participating in the manipulation of the results of the presidential election; the ban was lifted in 2008. [2] Also in 2006, Yermoshina was added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List of the United States, [3] while CEC member and Minister of Justice Oleg Slizhevsky was designated in 2007. [4]
In 2011, Yermoshina was again sanctioned by the EU, following the 2010 presidential election. [5] These European sanctions were lifted in 2016. [6]
On 2 October 2020 the European Union imposed sanctions on all 12 members of the commission for violations in the August election. [7] In the autumn of 2020, the UK, [8] Canada [9] [10] and Switzerland [11] also imposed sanctions against all CEC members. The United States imposed sanctions against CEC Deputy Chairman Vadzim Ipatau and CEC Secretary Alena Dmukhayla on 2 October 2020, [12] and on 21 June 2021 extended them to cover the rest of the Commission members. [13] In addition, on 23 December 2020 the Central Election Commission itself was added to the SDN list. [14]
In March 2022, the new head of the CEC, Ihar Karpenka, was added to the Canadian sanctions list. [15] In June 2022 Karpenka was also blacklisted by the European Union; [16] Switzerland joined these sanctions shortly thereafter. [17]
In March 2023, Karpenka and other members of the Belarusian CEC who had joined the commission after 2020 were added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. [18]
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) with a population of 9.1 million. The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into six regions. Minsk is the capital and largest city; it is administered separately as a city with special status.
The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus is one of many national Olympic committees that make up the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Created in 1991, the NOC RB, was charged with selecting athletes to represent Belarus in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, enforcing anti-doping laws and promoting sporting activity inside Belarus. The current president of the NOC RB is Victor Lukashenko, the son of the current President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.
Belshina is a tyre manufacturer in Belarus. The name is an abbreviation for "Belaruskaya shina", or "Belarusian Tyre".
The Belarusian Presidential Guard or officially the Presidential Security Service is a law-enforcement body that was designed to protect the President of Belarus and other high-ranking officials and officers.
The State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus is the national intelligence agency of Belarus. Along with its counterparts in Transnistria and South Ossetia, it kept the unreformed name after declaring independence.
Interstate relations between the United States and Belarus began in 1991 upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, of which Belarus had been a part. However, the relations have turned sour due to accusations by the United States that Belarus has been violating human rights. Belarus, in turn, has accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs.
Mutual relations between the Republic of Belarus and the European Union (EU) were initially established after the European Economic Community recognised Belarusian independence in 1991.
Lidia Mikhaylovna Yermoshina is a Belarusian politician. She was a member of the Central Election Commission of Belarus (1992–1996), and Chairwoman (1996–2021).
The Minsk City Police Department officially known as the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of the Minsk City Executive Committee is the main municipal police force in the Belarusian capital of Minsk with responsibilities that include law enforcement and investigation in the city.
The Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is an Internal Troops - paramilitary law enforcement force in the Republic of Belarus under the national Ministry of Internal Affairs. All personnel are trained in the Internal Troops Faculty of the Military Academy of Belarus.
The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office. In response to the demonstrations, a number of relatively small pro-government rallies were held.
The following is a list of the official reactions to the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and the surrounding 2020 Belarusian protests.
Yury Khadzhimuratavich Karayeu is a Russian-born Belarusian General of Militsiya. He was the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus from 11 June 2019 to 29 October 2020. He is also a Major General of the Police.
Okrestina Detention Centre, Akrestsina Detention Centre, officially, the Criminal Detention Centre of the Minsk Executive Committee’s Main Internal Affairs Directorate, is a pre-trial detention centre in Minsk, Belarus. The prison is known as a detention centre for activists of the Belarusian opposition arrested during mass protests against the government of president Alexander Lukashenko. On 21 June 2021, the U.S. Treasury has added Okrestina Detention Centre to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
Natalia Ivanovna Kochanova is a Belarusian politician who has been Speaker of the Council of the Republic of Belarus since December 2019.
Belaruskali is one of the largest state-owned companies of Belarus. It is one of the largest producers of potash fertilizers in the world, accounting for 20% global supply as of 2019.
A constitutional referendum was held in Belarus on 27 February 2022. The referendum was ordered by President Alexander Lukashenko in January 2022. According to political analysts, changes to the Belarusian constitution were intended to solidify the power of Lukashenko's regime after the mass protests in 2020 and 2021, which challenged his rule and was brutally suppressed by police. More than 35,000 people were arrested, 1,070 of whom are acknowledged political prisoners. The changes to the Constitution allow Lukashenko to remain in office until 2035 and empower the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, an extra-parliamentary body dominated by government supporters. The changes also renounced Belarus's nuclear-free zone status, allowing Belarus to host nuclear weapons for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union; the lead-up to the referendum occurred as Russia amassed its troops in both Russia and Belarus in the prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the election itself was held several days after Russia began its military offensive into Ukraine.
Belneftekhim is an association of petrochemical companies in Belarus, subordinated to the Council of Ministers. It manages these companies and regulates several aspects of the petrochemical sector, including setting retail prices for gasoline.
The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the MVD of the Republic of Belarus, is a state security service of Belarus. It has been accused of numerous acts of political repression, violence and torture of political opponents of Alexander Lukashenko's regime.
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